PORTLAND, Ore. — A tied game in the final minute went against the Portland State women's basketball team Saturday, as Idaho scored the final six points to top the Vikings 61-55 at Viking Pavilion.
 
Esmeralda Morales tied the game at 55-all with an elbow jumper with 48.3 seconds remaining. The Vikings locked the Vandals up for the majority of the shot clock on the next possession, but a lane opened up late, and Idaho's Sarah Schmitt took advantage to put the Vandals up 57-55 with 23.9 seconds left on the clock.
 
The Vandals' Kennedy Johnson then stepped in front of a baseline pass as the Vikings (5-7, 0-2) tried to answer, and four free throws later, the Vandals (7-5, 2-0) had iced it.
 
"Disappointed in our turnovers," Portland State head coach Chelsey Gregg said afterwards as the Vikings gave up 17 to just 11 for Idaho. "We have to clean that up if we want to get a W."
 
Turnovers were a factor in Thursday's loss to Eastern Washington, too. The Eagles outscored the Vikings 23-11 in points off turnovers in that one. Saturday against the Vandals, it was a similar story as the Vandals outscored the Vikings 20-11 off giveaways.
 
Still, the Vikings nearly overcame that thanks to a resurgent performance from three-point range. After going 12-of-48 (.250) combined from beyond the arc over their last three games, the Vikings shot 9-of-24 (.375) against the Vandals Saturday.
 
The return of Alaya Fitzgerald buoyed that effort for the Vikings. Fitzgerald officially returned to play Thursday after missing seven games with an injury but was a little rusty against the Eagles. Saturday, she was back to her former self, going 4-of-9 from three-point range while chipping in a season-high 17 points.
 
"Great to have Alaya back and proud of the way she showed up for our team, not just in the scoring column. It's good to see her playing with confidence," Gregg said of Fitzgerald.
 
The addition of a second threat from three-point range freed up Morales, who went 4-of-8 from three-point range while leading all scorers with 18 points in the game.
 
Fitzgerald and Morales accounted for 24 of the Vikings' 29 points in the second half. Morales scored eight straight points at one point in the third quarter after Idaho stretched it to its largest lead at 40-31.
 
The Vandals went back in front by six at 51-45 early in the fourth quarter, but the Vikings put the lid on the basket soon after that. The Viking defense held the Vandals scoreless for close to five minutes in the middle of the fourth while Idaho went just 2-of-12 from the field the rest of the way.
 
Morales hit her fourth triple of the game to get the Vikings back within two at 53-51, while Fitzgerald followed with a driving layup to knot it at 53-all with 3:44 remaining.
 
Idaho went back up with a layup with 2:25 left. Morales then snapped a scoring doubt of more than 90 seconds for both teams with her elbow jumper in the final minute. But the final momentum swing went the Vandals' way, leaving the Vikings waiting for 2024 to find their breakthrough.
 
Besides Fitzgerald and Morales, Lana Wenger chipped in nine points and seven rebounds to go with two blocks. All nine of Wenger's points came amid a 15-2 run to finish the first quarter that saw the Vikings go up 19-12.
 
The Vikings will step out of conference play next week for the Big Sky-Summit Challenge. The Vikings will play at Kansas City on Wednesday at 5 p.m. PT / 7 p.m. CT, before returning home for a game against St. Thomas next Saturday at 2 p.m.
 
Game Notes: The Vikings fell to 15-35 all time against the Vandals with Saturday's loss…The Vikings have lost four straight games and five of their last six…The Vikings outshot their opponent, .420-to-.407, for the second straight game…Idaho outscored the Vikings 26-to-8 in the paint.
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